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DETROIT (AP) The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys are the top two teams in the hunt for an NFC wild card and are still holding on to hopes of competing for division championships.
Detroit (7-5) hosts Dallas (6-5-1) on Thursday night and the winner will improve its position in the playoff picture while the loser may not have time to recover from the setback over the last month of the regular season.
“Our margin for error is very small right now,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We’ve got to find a way to win this next one in front of us.
“Time’s running out.”
After starting 5-2, the two-time defending NFC North champions have lost three of five to fall behind division-leading Chicago (9-3) and second-place Green Bay (8-3-1).
The Cowboys, meanwhile, are surging into postseason contention.
They’re over .500 for the first time this year thanks to three straight victories – including one over Philadelphia – to potentially challenge the NFC East-leading Eagles (8-3) for the division title.
Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott acknowledged he looked up the NFC playoff picture this week after he saw the AFC rundown on TV.
“We just win and handle our business, we’ll put ourselves in a great spot,” Prescott said.
Dallas’ secondary has enjoyed the return of several injured players in recent weeks, most notably both starting safeties in Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson. It appears 2021 All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs could be back against the Lions, although coach Brian Schottenheimer said the team was still determining his availability after he was a limited participant during the first two practices of the week.
Diggs has missed the past six games with a concussion and issues with both knees, including a left knee that has been surgically repaired twice in the past two years. He was initially sidelined by the concussion, which he suffered in an accident at home.
The former Alabama player led the league with 11 interceptions in 2021 in his second season. He has a total of six interceptions in the four seasons since then, and is at risk of going without one for the first time in his NFL career.
“I know who I am,” Diggs told reporters this week, declining to go into detail on the circumstances of the concussion. “I know what I can do on the field, and I’m going to put that out there and show if they forgot, I’m going to make sure to remind them.”
Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson broke his left leg in two places in last year’s 47-9 early-season win at Dallas, ending his season.
Hutchinson has 8 1/2 sacks, a career-high four forced fumbles and 24 quarterback hits this season.
“Knowing how good of a player he is, we’ll have eyes on him and as many hands as we can,” Prescott said.
While Hutchinson has had an impact in most games, he did not have a sack or a QB hit in last week’s loss to Green Bay.
Detroit has played 56 regular-season games over three-plus years without losing two in a row. If the Lions win on Thursday night, the streak without consecutive setbacks will be the league’s longest since New England’s 57-game run that ended in 2006, according to Sportradar.
The Cowboys and Lions are playing for the third straight year after splitting the last two memorable matchups in Dallas.
Detroit ended a six-game losing streak against Dallas with a 47-9 victory at AT&T Stadium last season. It was the most lopsided loss under owner Jerry Jones, who bought the Cowboys in 1989.
Two years ago, Detroit lost at Dallas 20-19 after a 2-point conversion pass to offensive lineman Taylor Decker was negated because the officials said offensive lineman Dan Skipper reported as eligible and Decker did not.
Each time Skipper has reported as eligible at home games since then, the crowd has roared for a player who has become an unlikely fan favorite.
“He’s reliable, dependable, and he does a lot of jobs for us,” Campbell said.
Dallas has the NFL’s top-ranked offense, averaging 393 yards a game, and ranks second with 29.3 points per game. Detroit averages 376 yards of offense, ranking third, and 29.2 points to tie for third in the league.
The game will feature teams averaging at least 375 yards and 29 points for just the fifth time since 1970.
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